Project's features include trails

Zoning hearing master meetings are scheduled for two days this week, Monday and Tuesday at 6 p.m. This is the first chance the public has to speak to them. Rezonings affecting North of Tampa neighborhoods will be heard at Monday's hearing. They include:

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KEYSTONE -- Eagle Scout Properties will make its pitch to allow 135 single-family homes on 881 acres on a site spanning Boy Scout Road, 1.2 miles northwest of Grove Lane.

In March, Eagle Scout representatives met with Keystone Civic Association members who were pleasantly surprised with some aspects of the proposal. They included:

/ Lot sizes limited to 2.25 acres and 5 acres.

/ Extensive xeriscaping.

/ No street lighting.

/ No walls surrounding the neighborhoods.

/ Entry gates located about 250 feet from the road.

/ Equestrian trails that connect with other horse paths in the area.

/ Lake protections and no-fertilizer zones.

/ County planning staff have determined that the development would be adequately served by surrounding roads. The Environmental Protection Commission was satisfied with the company's plans for 309 acres of wetlands on the site. Also, staff noted the project will include extensive buffering.

Planners found the project consistent with the county's Comprehensive Plan, as did the Planning Commission. (Petition RZ 00-0624)

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KEYSTONE: Reptron Electronics will ask for a major modification on 325 acres of one-time industrial land north of Race Track Road that it wants to convert for residential use.

Reptron officials want to build 305 homes on the south parcel of property, which comprises 115 acres. They also want the ability to develop a community residential home for up to 1,000 people.

County planners and the Planning Commission have found the project consistent and compatible with other development in the area. But Planning Commission officials noted that it "must be sensitive to the on-site wetlands and significant wildlife habitat. ... The site plan should designate areas for multi-family development along the eastern portion of the site adjacent to Nine Eagles Road and the southern portion adjacent to Tri-County Business Park."

The site plan also must include enhanced buffering along the eastern boundaries of the project. (Petition MM 00-0618)

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KEYSTONE: B.C.D. Investments Inc. wants to rezone 30 acres of land north of Race Track Road and east of McGlamery Road to build as many as 20 single-family homes.

The company, which wants to develop a former citrus grove, is asking for a zoning that will allow one home per acre. But after roads are constructed, developers estimate they will only be able to build about 20 homes.

County planning staff have signed off on the project, and the Planning Commision said it is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.

"The surrounding area is composed of vacant land, large lot single-family subdivisions and scattered single-family homes, and agricultural uses" a Planning Commission report said. "The proposed use of the site for conventional single-family homes on a minimum of a one acre lot would be compatible." (Petition 00-0725).

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TOWN 'N COUNTRY: Rudrapatna Govindaraju wants to rezone 9 acres of land at the southeast corner of Dale Mabry Highway and Humphrey Street for a two-story, 12,000-square-foot office building.

Because Dale Mabry Highway is lined with businesses and office space already, county planners said another one couldn't hurt. "This development would be compatible with the established commercial developments in the immediate area," said a Planning Commission report. "The proposed planned development should not have any significant adverse impacts to the single and multi-family neighborhoods to the west."

Planners did insist, however, on lanscaping and buffering along the west side of the site to insulate an existing day care center. (Petition RZ 00-0623)

Other developments

LUTZ: On Tuesday, Hillsborough County commissioners will have the final say on what kind of Publix grocery store will be allowed at the southeast corner of Lutz-Lake Fern Road and N Dale Mabry Highway.

So far, all government planners have recommended that the store be held to two-thirds the size wanted by the developer.

Publix, which neighbors roundly welcomed as the anchor tenant, has warned that the smaller size could jeopardize any future plans to expand the store. (Petition RZ 99-1397)

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UNIVERSITY NORTH: The Museum of Science and Industry is looking to expand, but not before they hold a bunch of meetings on the matter.

Hillsborough County will have the first public meeting to discuss the purchase of a 1.3 acre out-parcel at the southeast corner of Fowler Avenue and 46th Street in the University of South Florida area.

County staff will be at the meeting to listen to residents' concerns. The meeting is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at MOSI, 4801 E Fowler Ave. For information, call (813) 272-5275.

Where and when

Hearings of county zoning hearing masters and land-use hearing officers and land-use meetings of the County Commission are held on the second floor of the County Center, 601 E Kennedy Blvd. The zoning hearings begin at 6 p.m., and the commission meetings begin at 9 a.m. Both are televised on government access channels. The land use hearing officer hearings, which are not televised, begin at 9 a.m. For information, call (813) 272-5920.